Overview
In 2024, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia celebrated 50 years as Dialogue Partners. The relationship was strengthened further in 2021, with Australia becoming a Comprehensive Strategic Partner of ASEAN. As the first dialogue partner of ASEAN, Australia and Southeast Asia have enjoyed strong trade, people-topeople relations and leader-level engagement. To mark this special occasion, Australia held the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in March 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. The Summit brought together leaders from across government, business, research and other sectors from Australia, ASEAN, and Timor-Leste to discuss Australia’s cooperation with ASEAN and the future trajectory of the relationship. Under the leadership of 2024 ASEAN Chair and Prime Minister of Lao PDR Sonexay Siphandone, and Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, the Summit was organised around four thematic ‘tracks’: Business, Emerging Leaders, Climate and Clean Energy and Maritime Cooperation. Alongside this, the Summit held a plenary and retreat for the leaders of ASEAN, Timor-Leste and Australia. The Summit showcased the strong ASEAN-Australia partnership through a series of ASEAN-Australia week events, which included cultural showcases, emerging leaders programs, workshops for policymakers and academics, and networking for business leaders. For Prime Minister Albanese, the Summit was an opportunity “to discuss the shared challenges facing our region, opportunities to enhance prosperity and how we can build on our strong relationships”. This is emblematic of the Australian Government's foreign policy focus on Southeast Asia, led by Foreign Minister Penny Wong. This report provides a summary of the key issues discussed during the Maritime Conference on Monday 4 March, as part of the Maritime Cooperation Forum. Partnering with the Blue Security Program, the Australian Government brought together nearly 200 maritime experts from ASEAN members states, TimorLeste and Australia for the Conference, including academics and officials to “generate new solutions to maritime challenges". The Forum took a holistic view of maritime security, exploring both traditional and nontraditional security issues. These themes have been identified as key issues in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, ASEAN Maritime Outlook and the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework. The Forum focused on four themes which were represented by four panels of Australian, ASEAN and Timor-Leste experts.
- Maritime security: Challenges and opportunities for cooperation
- The blue economy
- Environmental issues: Marine ecology and climate change
- Law of the sea and governance